1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to fastener systems and in particular to a method and apparatus for insulating fasteners and structures attached to fasteners.
2. Background
Aircraft are being designed and manufactured with greater and greater percentages of composite materials. Some aircraft may have more than fifty percent of its primary structure made from composite materials. Composite materials are used in aircraft to decrease the weight of the aircraft. This decreased weight improves performance features, such as payload capacities and fuel efficiencies. Further, composite materials provide longer service life for various components in an aircraft.
Composite materials are tough, light-weight materials created by combining two or more dissimilar components. For example, a composite may include fibers and resins. The fibers may be in the form of a substrate or matrix. For example, the fibers may take the form of a woven cloth. The resin may form a reinforcement for the substrate. The fibers and resins are combined and cured to form a composite material.
Further, by using composite materials, portions of an aircraft may be created in larger pieces or sections. For example, a fuselage in an aircraft may be created in cylindrical sections that may be put together to form the fuselage of the aircraft. Other examples include, for example, without limitation, wing sections joined to form a wing or stabilizer sections joined to form a stabilizer.
During use, unexpected impacts, or other conditions, delamination may occur between the interface between two layers in a structure made of composite materials. Delamination is a condition in which the layers in a structure may separate. These types of conditions may be detected through various monitoring and scanning systems. The different advantageous embodiments recognize that it would be desirable to manufacture composite structures in the manner that overcomes the problems described above.